Super Wingstorm

Taunted by Vincent Wegier again, Henk Demyer was overcome with shame and anger. His temper flared, but fortunately, Yang Yang reacted quickly and grabbed him, preventing a conflict.

In truth, if Henk Demyer had rushed him, he might not have even been a match for Vincent Wegier.

The Hamler Youth Academy’s selection criteria were clearly influenced by Hank De Kuning’s tastes, showing a preference for physical conditioning and strength in confrontations.

John Reep and Dick Van Puer, who were standing nearby, also hurried over to de-escalate the situation.

Before coming here, they had held on to a sliver of hope that Henk Demyer might also get into the Ajax Youth Academy. That would have a huge impact on Almere. Forget just Almere City—parents from all the surrounding cities would flock to send their children to the Almere Youth Academy.

With a wider talent pool to choose from, they would find more promising prospects, and the overall quality would naturally rise.

But now, it seemed Henk Demyer’s performance had been subpar, and his chances of being selected were slim.

Sometimes, they found it all so incredible. It had only been a little over three months, yet everything had become so unfamiliar. Whenever they thought back on it, it felt unbelievable.

Just over three months ago, who would have thought that Yang Yang would actually get into the Ajax Youth Academy?

Back then, even if they had considered every single player in their youth academy, they never would have guessed it would be Yang Yang.

But that’s just how strange the world can be.

As for Henk Demyer, this wasn’t the first time he’d cracked under pressure at a critical moment and performed poorly. But they couldn’t let him get physical, no matter what. Otherwise, not only would he lose his eligibility for the tryouts, but the Almere Youth Academy would also receive a reprimand from Ajax.

"Yang Yang, if you really face that bastard this afternoon, don’t hold back. Destroy him," Henk Demyer said hatefully through gritted teeth, his eyes red as he glared at Vincent Wegier’s retreating back.

"Don’t worry. You don’t have to tell me. I’ll give it my all," Yang Yang replied calmly.

John Reep and Dick Van Puer exchanged a look, both noticing the strange expression in the other’s eyes.

Even someone as proud as Henk Demyer was now deferring to Yang Yang, to the point of actively asking for his help. This was another thing they never could have predicted.

...

...

The conflict between Henk Demyer and Vincent Wegier drew no attention at all amidst the bustling crowds of De Toekomst. Everyone was far more concerned with the tryouts themselves.

After the morning’s assessment events ended, the crowds began to disperse.

De Toekomst’s player cafeteria only provided free lunch for the players in the tryouts, their parents, and employees of partner clubs. The vast majority of spectators had to eat elsewhere; some who lived nearby simply went home.

After all, the food in the player cafeteria was prepared in strict accordance with professional player standards. While they made it as refined and tasty as possible, it was by no means gourmet cuisine.

Yang Yang, on the other hand, found it all very novel. It was his first time trying the nutritional meal specially prepared for Ajax Youth Academy players.

His uncle, Shen Ming, was an excellent cook, skilled in all sorts of Chinese dishes and snacks. After coming to the Netherlands, Yang Yang’s palate had been thoroughly spoiled by his uncle. But this was the standard lunch for an Ajax Youth Academy player. Even though it was plain, he ate it with great relish.

Nick, John Reep, and Dick Van Puer all ate and chatted cheerfully. Only Henk Demyer, who seemed to have been hit hard by his morning setback, had no appetite. He sulked after just a few hasty bites.

This left John Reep and Dick Van Puer deeply disappointed.

’Without a good mentality and the ability to self-regulate, how can he ever become a top professional player?’

After lunch, John Reep took the group on a tour of De Toekomst.

Although he was a product of the Ajax Youth Academy, Ajax’s home stadium and training grounds had only moved to Southeast New City a few years ago. So, John Reep wasn’t intimately familiar with De Toekomst himself. Still, having visited many times, he introduced the place with great familiarity.

For a long time after the move to Southeast New City, Ajax failed to produce any dazzling new stars. This led many fans to question Chairman Michael van Praag’s decision. It wasn’t until Van der Vaart burst onto the scene in the last two years that the fans’ doubts were greatly eased.

Currently, the first team was brimming with talent. It had a core of homegrown youth products like Van der Vaart, Sneijder, De Jong, and Heitinga, as well as powerful foreign players like Ibrahimovic, Maxwell, Talabesi, and Pinaar. All the fans were eagerly awaiting another Ajax revival.

Ronald Koeman was also ambitious, hoping to recreate the glory of the Van Gaal era from the mid-nineties. This was also why Chairman Michael van Praag had invited Van Gaal to come out of retirement and serve as technical director.

But from the way John Reep told it, he didn’t seem very optimistic about their prospects.

"I heard the Ajax dressing room is full of conflict. The Egyptian striker Mido was trying to force a transfer, and in a fit of rage, he threw a pair of scissors at Ibrahimovic, nearly hitting the Swedish Striker in the head. After that, the club kept loaning him out and finally sold him to Marseille this summer."

Nick brought up the tabloid rumor with a sense of mystery, still a little spooked by it.

If he had actually hit him, with blood splattered all over the dressing room, wouldn’t that have been a shocking piece of world news?

"Is that for real?" Yang Yang was a bit skeptical of the media reports.

Ronald Koeman was known for being a strict disciplinarian. How could something like that happen?

"It’s true. I heard that after it happened, sharp objects were banned from the Ajax dressing room," Nick said with certainty.

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. If the media was reporting it, there must have been a reason.

Yang Yang remembered the last time he passed the Amsterdam Arena, the media was reporting on Leo Benhakker’s affair. At the time, no one could believe it; they didn’t think Beenhakker would be a cradle robber. But what happened in the end?

"Mido did everything he could to force a transfer, and Ibrahimovic is also agitating for one, even willing to go to Southampton in the Premier League. You can’t rely on these foreign players at all. They just use Ajax as a stepping stone," Nick complained indignantly.

Yang Yang frowned as he listened. If he joined Ajax, he would be a foreign player, too.

Perhaps in the eyes of many Dutch natives, especially the fans in Amsterdam, only homegrown youth players like Van der Vaart and Sneijder were considered the true core of the team.

...

...

An hour before the final afternoon tryouts, Van Gaal finally appeared at De Toekomst.

The newly appointed technical director knew Ajax like the back of his hand and got to work quickly. From player transfers to contract renewals, he arranged every task in an orderly fashion. After finally carving out some time for a short rest at noon, he immediately rushed to De Toekomst to prepare for the afternoon’s work.

As he entered the technical team’s office, Patrick Radru, Tony Bruins Slotts, and the others all came forward to greet him. They reported on the morning’s final tryout results and handed him a score sheet from the morning’s assessments.

"What’s going on?" Van Gaal noticed Radru and Slotts exchange a smile as they handed him the score sheet. He found it a bit strange. ’Is there something in this report to be happy about?’

"Just take a look," Radru said with a smile.

Van Gaal didn’t overthink it. He immediately opened the file, his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed as he went down the list of names. When he saw the final scores for the three players from Almere, he couldn’t help but be a little surprised.

"How did this Henk Demyer perform so poorly in the four-on-four drill?"

Van Gaal clearly remembered that when he went to Almere to preside over their term assessment, this Henk Demyer’s performance had been outstanding. There was no way he should have performed this badly. The only explanation was that he had choked under the pressure of the moment.

"I paid special attention to the players on our watchlist. After seeing the score sheet, I specifically contacted the sideline coaches and scouts for that assessment to understand the situation. They all believed that after making an initial mistake, Henk Demyer’s performance fell apart."

Slotts then pointed to Vincent Wegier on the list of Hamler players. "Look at this Wegier. He was cut during the assessment six months ago, which left us short a left-back for our eighteen-year-old age group. But his score in the four-on-four assessment this time isn’t particularly great either."

Van Gaal gave Slotts a meaningful look. After a moment’s thought, he immediately understood what had happened.

He was vaguely aware of the grudge between Hank De Kuning and John Reep, but regardless, he would judge the players based solely on their assessment scores.

Besides, wasn’t this also a test of Henk Demyer’s mental fortitude?

Henk Demyer’s performance was not ideal, and Nick’s was merely average. But when Van Gaal saw Yang Yang’s scores, his eyes clearly lit up, and he clicked his tongue in amazement.

’This kid’s improved again.’

Radru and Slotts exchanged another knowing smile.

They hadn’t expected it either. Yang Yang’s assessment scores this time showed significant improvement over his results in Almere two months ago. Not only had he made small gains in his usual areas of strength, but even his weakest skills—ball control, passing, and crossing—had improved markedly, especially his crossing.

It was clear the kid had really put in the hard work to shore up his weaknesses.

To bring another surprise after just two short months was something no one had anticipated.

Van Gaal was also very gratified. Others saw a score sheet, but he saw a vision of Yang Yang in that empty skate park, training tirelessly day and night. Every time he recalled that scene, he felt a surge of inspiration himself.

"It’s not bad. His ball control has at least reached a passing level," Van Gaal said with a faint smile.

He had never been a coach who was generous with praise, and he didn’t want people thinking he was giving Yang Yang special treatment.

That wouldn’t be good for him, or for Yang Yang.

"We’ll see how he does in the practice match this afternoon."

With a soft thud, Van Gaal closed the score sheet, secretly letting out a breath of relief.